"Maine tumhare pitaji ke saath bahut kaam kiya hai," says former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Digvijaya Singh as he alights from a makeshift dais, holding the hand of a Congress worker.
As the young man bows to touch his feet, the septuagenarian Singh embraces him amid shouts of "Raja Saheb Ki Jai".
Holding small street-corner meetings, Singh hops from one to another, reminding the voters that this is his last election and that he will always be available for them, unlike Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who will be seated in New Delhi and won't be available to solve their problems.
"Yeh mera chuaakhri naav, mujhe paanch saal dijiye main aaplogon jeewan main badlaw laa ke rahunga (this is my last election; give me five years, I will bring change to your lives)," Singh says, not revealing any sign of tiredness or fatigue that the hot sun would have brought.
"They (BJP) say 'don't look at the candidate but vote in the name of (Narendra) Modi' ... arre bhai, agar Modiji ko dekhte to Benaras se chunaav ladhte... yaa woh yahan Rajgarh se ladhte. Agar aap koi pareshanni hui to aap Modiji kee paas thorri naa jaaoge ... aap log to aapne sansad ke paas jaoge, but yahan ke sansad to dikhte he nahi hain (If we wanted to see Modi we would have fought elections from Benaras or he should have fought from Rajgarh. If anyone lands in any trouble, you won't go to Modi but approach your local MP who is not available).
Denne historien er fra May 03, 2024-utgaven av Business Standard.
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Denne historien er fra May 03, 2024-utgaven av Business Standard.
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